Senate President Malcolm Smith Defends Regional Offices

Senate President Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, on Wednesday defended the Senate’s regional offices and said his conference was not getting enough credit for legislation it had passed.
The Senate operates an office on East Avenue and has offices in Buffalo, Syracuse and Long Island. They have been criticized for duplicating the work of each senator’s office. The [...]

Malcolm Smith Used Campaign Funds to Give “Personal Loan”

Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith used campaign funds to give a fellow Democratic lawmaker a $2,800 “personal loan” – a possible violation of state election law.
Smith, a Queens Democrat, gave the money to Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, a Mount Vernon Democrat, on Jan. 2, his campaign’s recent filing with the state Board of Elections shows.
“It was [...]